Kylie Sunderland's Pokémon Team of Destruction
by missingphanpy
Summary: Some people have the compassion and courage to be natural Pokémon trainers. And some people don't. This is the story of a girl who tries her best to raise a team of friendly, loyal Pokémon... and who really, really should have done something else with her life.
1. Chapter 1

All throughout the world, thousands of trainers easily bond with their Pokémon. The trainers get to build a sense of character, and the Pokémon get unconditional love and a chance to better themselves. For most people, training Pokémon is a rewarding experience that prepares them for life ahead.

Kylie Sunderland was not one of those people.

At first the young girl had showed real promise. She camped outside the Pallet Town professor's lab for days, helping clean the lab and running errands, to prove to him that she was ready to own her own Pokémon. Impressed by her resolve, Professor Oak gave her a small Charmander. Kylie Sunderland was just seven years old.

It has always been the policy of professors entrusted with Pokémon to give them out to children no younger than ten. Younger children may lack the responsibility required to properly care for their Pokémon, and manage their unique powers.

After the case of Kylie Sunderland, experts advise that a professor caught giving a Pokémon to a child under ten should face six to nine years in federal prison.

My name is Dr. Steven Harrison. Some of my colleagues study fields such as Pokémon evolution, or Pokémon breeding. My field is a little more specialized.

I study the effects of Pokémon on the criminally insane.

These findings are being published with the hope that measures will be taken to prevent something like the Kylie Sunderland case from ever happening again.

I submit these findings for your consideration.

* * *

"I AM GOING TO BE THE GREATEST TRAINER IN THE WORLD!" announced Kylie Sunderland.

"That's nice kid," the usher said. His cigarette dangled limply in his mouth, and he breathed smoke into Kylie's face. "But the rest of these kids also plan on being the greatest trainer in the world, and they all got here first. Back of the line."

Kylie scowled. It was completely unfair. The only reason she was late for her Pewter Gym challenge was because she had spent all of last night training Charmander in preparation for it. She'd fallen asleep in the grass at five in the morning, and woken up several hours after the Pewter Gym opened. By the time she'd made a quick stop at the Pokémon centre, there were already over thirty people in line.

"This sucks," Kylie pouted. Her pouting didn't seem to do much to change the usher's mind. Her grandmother had always told her that she was irresistible when she pouted, but the usher just pointed to the back of the line and blew more smoke in her face.

Kylie continued to pout as she stalked over to the back of the line. She stood behind a stocky looking bug catcher, who smelled strongly of deodorant.

"Got here late, huh?" the bug catcher said. He seemed pleased that there was someone even farther back in the line than he was. "You'd never catch me doing that. A bug catcher always rises early!"

Kylie blinked. "There are thirty two people in front of you."

"They… rose early too. Pewter's the first gym, so it gets the most challengers. Upstarts who think they're going to be the next champion, and get their butt handed to them."

Kylie wondered if that was directed at her.

"So what's your strategy?" the bug catcher asked.

Kylie patted the sole Pokéball on her belt confidently. "I'm going in with Charmander here!"

The bug catcher began to laugh. "Are you kidding me!? The one starter that's weak against the first two gyms – that's what you picked!?"

Kylie frowned. "You're a bug catcher – bugs are weak against rock types too."

The bug catcher sniffed. "So what if they are? At least I caught my Pokémon naturally, I wasn't given them by some nutty old professor. That gives me the kind of killer edge that your stupid lab Pokémon could never match."

Kylie decided she didn't like the bug catcher. "I think my Pokémon's better than yours, anyway."

"Oh yeah?" the bug catcher said. "What can your Charmander possibly do that my bugs can't?"

"This," Kylie said. She threw the Pokéball and her small orange Charmander popped out. He immediately breathed a stream of fire directly at the bug catcher's pants.

"OH SWEET ARCEUS, MY PANTS ARE ON FIRE!" screamed the bug catcher.

"They sure are," Kylie agreed.

The bug catcher ran from the line screaming. The usher fortunately was dealing with a small Zigzagoon that had taken an interest in his shoe, and he didn't notice Kylie's blatant breach of trainer's ethics. Kylie happily stepped forward. The line had just gotten a little shorter.

Charmander waved his tail uneasily. "Trainer, was that such a good idea?"

Kylie sighed. Normally she was glad for the Pokémon translator she'd bought in Viridian City – it had been annoying having a travel partner that would only ever say his name – but she didn't like the second guessing that Charmander was prone to doing. She supposed it was all part of the learning curve though; she was learning to be a Pokémon's trainer, and he was learning to be a trainer's Pokémon.

And so, to avoid awkward conversations about morality and stuff, Kylie rummaged through her backpack for a Pokémon treat, and gave it to Charmander to shut him up.

Over the next four hours, Kylie and Charmander stood in line. The sun beat over her head, and Kylie cursed her decision not to wear sunblock. She made small talk with her Pokémon, called her grandmother to check in on her back in Pallet Town, and stared blankly at the sky, killing time while waiting for her very first gym challenge. She waited so long that she was barely nervous anymore.

Finally Kylie and Charmander arrived at the front of the line. The usher looked up at her with a weary sigh. It looked like he'd been through a very long day.

"Welcome to the Pewter Gym," he said. The thirty trainers before Kylie had clearly drained all the usher's enthusiasm. "Your thrilling adventure towards the Pokémon Championship begins here. Hooray. For. You. Can I see some ID?"

Kylie flashed her trainer's badge.

The usher looked over her briefly. "Little young to be a trainer, aren't you?"

"I started early," Kylie was always proud of telling people this fact. "Professor Oak had to write in to the Pokémon League for special approval."

"Fascinating," said the usher, who didn't sound like he found that fascinating in the least. "Well we're skipping all the junior trainers you'd normally face today, since the line's so long. So you can just go right ahead in and face Brock."

Kylie blinked. "That's it? No drama? No exciting entry?"

The usher sighed. "Kid, this isn't the battle for the Championship, it's your first gym badge. Don't count your Torchics before they hatch."

With those inspiring words of wisdom, Kylie stepped past the gloomy usher and into the Pewter City Gym. Brock stood at the end of the gym, on an elevated platform. Though he'd faced thirty challengers before her, you couldn't tell that to look at him. He had the kind of easy confidence that must have come naturally to Gym Leaders.

"Welcome to Pewter City Gym!" he announced. "I'm Brock! It's great to see someone as young as you interested in Pokémon!"

"I'm special!" Kylie announced. Her grandmother always told her it was rude to say that she was smarter or more special than people, but her grandmother wasn't here, so to hell with that noise.

"Well we'll see about that," Brock said. "How many Pokémon do you have with you?"

"The only one I need!" Kylie gestured to Charmander.

"We'll make this a one on one battle then." Brock pulled a Great Ball from his belt. "Are you ready to fight?"

"I'm ready to completely crush you!" Kylie replied, grinning. She'd decided that she was going to attach her Boulder Badge to a bracelet on her wrist.

"Don't count on it!" Brock shouted. "Go, Onix!"

Brock threw the Pokéball in the air and a massive grey creature appeared in a flash of light. Its entire body was made up of massive grey boulders, and it had a horn that was larger than Kylie's whole body. She hadn't known Pokémon could come that big.

But Kylie recovered quickly. "Go, Charmander!"

Charmander looked up at the massive creature doubtfully. "Uhhh… are you sure about this, Trainer?"

"Of course I am!" Kylie replied. "Haven't you ever seen a gym battle on TV? The scrappy underdog always wins! And who could be more of an underdog than you? Look at that thing – it could swallow you in one gulp!"

"That isn't helping my confidence," Charmander replied.

"Don't worry – I have a plan!" Kylie said. "Charmander, Ember!"

Charmander raced at the massive rock snake and released a blast of sparks from his mouth. Onix didn't even try to dodge, and the sparks barely fazed him.

"Rookie mistake kid," Brock said. "Fire isn't any good against a rock type."

Kylie began to pout. That had been exactly what the bug catcher with the flammable pants had said. But she wasn't about to quit yet – Professor Oak himself had written to the Pokémon League for her trainer's license, and she had promised her grandmother to do her best on her Pokémon journey. She wasn't going to give up now, she just needed a plan.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kylie noticed the usher still by the door, the one who blew smoke in her face. And all of a sudden she had it.

"Charmander, Smokescreen!" Kylie shouted.

Charmander coughed, and smoke went directly into Onix's face. The massive Pokémon roared in surprise. It swung its tail at Charmander to attempt a Slam attack, but missed by a foot.

"We've got it, Charmander!" Kylie shouted. "It can't even see us to attack!"

"Not bad at all," Brock smiled. "You've got some skills, kid. But you still have a whole lot of growing up to do before you can beat me."

He turned to his Pokémon. "Onix, Rollout!"

Onix began to extend itself. Stretched out, it was as long as the entire width of the gym. Its horn touched one wall and its tail touched the other.

Then it began to roll.

Onix couldn't see where it was going, but it didn't need to. It barreled towards Charmander picking up speed every second, getting closer and closer.

"I can't get out of the way!" Charmander cried. "It's too big! What do I do, trainer!?"

Kylie was silent. She had nothing.

Onix crashed into Charmander, and the tiny lizard went flying backwards, and crashed into the statue at the front of the gym listing trainers who'd defeated the gym leader. Kylie's name wouldn't be on that plaque anytime soon.

Wordlessly, Kylie recalled Charmander. Brock did the same to his Onix.

Kylie thought about letting down her grandmother. She thought about the stupid usher outside with his cigarettes. And she thought about the sound Charmander had made when he went crashing backwards and hit the concrete statue.

When he noticed Kylie's silence, Brock looked concerned. "Hey, don't feel bad kid. Trainers a lot older than you lost their first gym battle. When I started my journey the first Gym Leader had fighting types, and I got my tail handed to me. If you need to cry kid, don't worry, that's totally fine… kid?"

Kylie pulled at her hair and screamed.

Brock blinked. He hadn't expected that.


	2. Chapter 2

Kylie could feel the other trainers at the Pokémon Centre looking at her. Judging her. Most of them knew where she had come from; in fact, some of the faces looked familiar from the line for the Pewter Gym that morning. Brock may have only been the first Gym Leader, but it still seemed like nine out of ten trainers had lost against him.

The thought made Kylie feel a little better. Her little freak out after losing to Brock had just been embarrassing. It was just that she'd never lost before. She knew that she was still a rookie, and she wasn't Champion material yet, but she thought she'd been better than this. Professor Oak had given her special permission to start her journey early, and somehow that had convinced her that she was special and couldn't lose. Now she just felt stupid.

That was okay though. Nurse Joy would finish healing Charmander soon, and then they could leave the city for some evening training, and maybe challenge Brock again in a couple days…

"Oh hey, loser! How'd the big loss go?"

Kylie gritted her teeth as the annoying bug catcher from that morning walked in. He was now wearing a different set of pants, and eyeing her belt to make sure that her Charmander wasn't with her.

"Since you're back here, I'm guessing things didn't go too well? What's the matter, did basic type matchup advantages get the best of you? Could your tiny little brain not handle the pressure?"

"You're one to talk!" Kylie replied. "That Weedle in your arms looks unconscious. Any guesses as to what did THAT?"

The bug catcher folded his arms, accidentally dropping his Weedle onto the floor. "Well I would've beat Brock if my winning mindset hadn't been thrown off by your unprovoked attack on me. You abused your authority as a trainer, and I have half a mind to call the cops right now and-"

Kylie took his phone from him, and threw it directly out the window. It hit the pavement outside with a soft crack.

The bug catcher ran out in panic after his phone. The whole "graceful loser" thing had never really appealed to Kylie. She had been trying to look at her loss from a positive approach, but now she just wanted to get back out to Route 2 with her Charmander, and train and train until she could crush Brock and prove she was better than that bug catcher and these losers in the Pokémon Centre. She would have given the losers in the Pokémon a very rude hand gesture to show how awesome she was, but they were all a lot bigger than her.

"Kylie Sunderland?" Nurse Joy called out. "Your Charmander is ready!"

Kylie raced over and grabbed Charmander's Pokéball. It was already getting dark outside, but that was alright. She was going to have an all-night training session, and with a little luck, Charmander would evolve before the night was over.

Charmander didn't evolve that night, or the five nights after that. After nearly a week of training in Viridian Forest, Charmander was coated in mud and covered with ticks, but not any closer to evolving.

At the end of the sixth day, Kylie sighed. "Feel like evolving yet, Charmander?"

"I'm hungry," Charmander replied.

"You were hungry yesterday! This is going to be a whole thing with you, isn't it?"

"Well we don't know how to hunt," Charmander replied. "And those berries you picked yesterday just made us sick. I think they were less of the 'cure status conditions' types of berries and more of the 'extremely toxic and poisonous' types of berries."

"To be fair, they did keep us from sleeping," Kylie replied.

"I threw up for half the night! Why can't we just go back to Pewter City and find a grocery store?" Charmander complained. "I miss sleeping in the Pokémon Centre. Weedles never try to crawl into your ear in the Pokémon Centre."

"That Weedle was just being friendly," Kylie replied. "And if you hadn't screamed so loudly and scared him away, we might've been able to capture him. Besides, I'm not going back to Pewter City until I can crush Brock with a freshly evolved Charmeleon! I want to show that stupid bug catcher, and that crowd in the Pokémon Centre, and that Nurse Joy who got all judgmental when I lost!"

"She offered you a Lava Cookie," Charmander pointed out.

"A very JUDGMENTAL Lava Cookie," Kylie replied. "Look, I don't want to stay out here any longer than you do, but we don't have any other choice. You're sure you don't feel like evolving soon?"

Charmander shook his head. "Nope."

"Well that's it then," Kylie sighed. "None of the bugs out here are strong enough to beat Brock without some serious training, and your attacks won't do much damage until after you evolve. We're stuck."

"Maybe there's another way," Charmander replied. "Some Pokémon learn moves that you'd never expect them to, that let them stand up against types that they'd normally be weak to. Did you know an Aggron can use Thunder to take out a water type?"

"What are you saying?" Kylie asked.

"I think I have a plan!" Charmander smiled.

* * *

"Welcome to the Pewter City Gym, challenger… oh hey, it's you again."

"You bet it is!" Kylie grinned. All her confidence had returned. "This time I have a foolproof plan for beating you! My Charmander came up with it!"

Brock looked dubiously at Kylie. "You're using a plan that a tiny red lizard came up with?" Charmander growled at him, and raced to the front of the Gym.

"That's a tiny red lizard who's going to kick your butt!" Kylie cheered. "And then I'll show you, and those judgmental strangers back at the Pokémon centre, and Nurse Joy, and her Chansey, and that bug catcher, and my Grandma! Who's too ugly to be a Pokémon trainer NOW, Grandma!?"

Brock blinked. "Uh… okay. Go, Onix!"

The giant rock snake appeared in a flash of light. It looked down at Charmander and roared. Charmander took a couple steps backwards.

"Don't be scared Charmander, your plan's going to work!" Kylie cheered. "Use Smokescreen!"

Charmander blew a giant burst of smoke in Onix's face. The giant rock type roared in pain as thick black smoke stung its eyes.

"We've done this before!" Brock grinned. "Onix, Rollout!"

Onix extended itself once again, stretching itself horizontally until its tail touched one end of the gym and its horn touched the other end. Then it began to roll towards Charmander.

"Don't worry Charmander, we got this!" Kylie cheered. "Just wait until it gets a little closer!"

Charmander watched the massive rock Pokémon barrel closer. "What if this doesn't work? We never practiced on this large a target!"

"You can do this!" Kylie cried. The Onix grew closer, picking up speed.

"I don't trust my plan anymore!" Charmander wailed.

"NOW!" Kylie shouted. "Metal Claw!"

Charmander shut his eyes, and raced at the oncoming creature. His claws extended, and began to glow a bright silver. He swung wildly, and slammed right into the Onix with his extended claw.

The Onix crumpled. It stopped rolling and its tail flipped over, knocking Charmander aside. Then its neck tangled in its lower body, and it tumbled off to the side of the grim, crashing into the far wall. Large cracks appeared in the concrete where it had landed.

"We've almost got it!" Kylie cried. "Hit it with another Metal Claw!"

Charmander raced towards the dazed Onix. Onix seemed to have tied itself into a knot – Kylie couldn't tell where the massive Pokémon began and ended. Charmander leapt at the creature with a determined glare.

"Onix, Rage!" Brock shouted.

Onix's head shot up from the ground and connected with Charmander. Charmander went flying backwards with a surprised cry. He fell back against the ground with a loud crash. The little Pokémon had fainted.

"OH COME ON!" Kylie cried. "Again!? Are you kidding me!?"

"And that's the match!" Brock clapped his hands together. "Great try kid, I really thought you had me for a second."

Kylie looked at the victorious Onix, giving her a gigantic smirk. She looked over at Brock standing on his podium. And all of a sudden, she had an idea for how she could defeat him. She'd have to heal up Charmander first, and get a few things ready. But after that…

"I have to go do some more… er… training," Kylie said. "But I'll be back to fight you again really soon. REALLY soon." She tried to give Brock a reassuring smile, but it came across looking like she had indigestion.

"Uh… are you okay, kid?" Brock asked. "You're not going to freak out again, are you?"

"No!" Kylie said, much too quickly. "Of course not! I'm just going to go train some more, and I'll see you again soon. Really, really soon."

As she turned away and walked out of the gym, Kylie Sunderland began to smile.


	3. Chapter 3

"This time we are going to DESTROY you!" shouted Kylie.

"Trainer, I really don't know about this," said Charmander.

"Quiet, you're ruining my big moment," said Kylie. "Brock, I am going to crush you! Your big stupid Onix probably just means that you're compensating for something!"

"You're not the first person to say that," said Brock. "Although I'm impressed by your determination. Most people who get thoroughly defeated by me twice in a row aren't quite as confident the third time. Especially when they're using the exact same Pokémon as before… with a type disadvantage."

"Shut up!" said Kylie. "I have a new strategy to beat you!"

"Did your Charmander come up with this one too?" Brock smirked.

"Shut up!" Kylie repeated. This strategy wasn't like her earlier plans to beat Brock. This strategy was something very, very different. It certainly wasn't an idea that Charmander had come up with; in fact Charmander had tried to talk her out of it. But in the end he had seen reason, and they'd practiced all night. Now they were finally ready.

"Let's see what you've got then," Brock said. "Go Onix!"

Brock threw the Pokéball, and the massive rock snake appeared once again. By this time Kylie was used to the creature's enormous size, and it didn't intimidate her. She threw her Pokéballl in the air.

"Charmander, go!"

Charmander appeared in a burst of light, and looked up at the massive Onix dubiously. Kylie had hoped maybe his fear of the massive Pokémon would've dulled after facing it twice… but considering both those fights had ended with Charmander's humiliating defeat, it was easy to see why he was still a bit nervous.

"Don't be scared Charmander!" Kylie cheered. "This time we've got him for sure!"

"I really don't like this idea," Charmander said. "Can't we just try a Metal Claw?"

"Nope!" Kylie replied. "This time nothing's standing in our way! Well, aside from the thirty foot long giant snake that beat you up twice in a row. Aside from that, nothing's standing in our way!"

Charmander sighed.

"Onix, use Rock Tomb!" Brock ordered. Onix roared, and began blasting large rocks out of its mouth at Charmander. Charmander cried out, and began to jump and dodge them.

"Time to get a gym badge!" Kylie smiled. "Charmander, RUN!"

Charmander didn't need to be told twice. He turned around and ran past Kylie, straight towards the doors, with the angry usher and the long line of trainers. Onix growled, and looked to its trainer for instructions.

"What are you waiting for!?" Brock cried. "Chase it!"

Onix gave a great roar of anger, and began to chase after Charmander. Charmander's tiny legs meant he couldn't outrun the Onix forever, but that didn't matter. If her secret plan worked, he wouldn't have to.

"Charmander, left!" Kylie ordered. Right as the Onix was closing in on him, Charmander darted left. The Onix couldn't turn as quickly as the tiny Pokémon, and it slid into the gym wall. It roared in frustration, turned, and began to chase after Charmander again.

Now Charmander was running back towards Kylie, looking over his shoulder every five seconds to make sure the Onix wasn't getting too close. Eventually the massive creature and began to close in again.

"Charmander, right!" Kylie ordered. Charmander darted right just as Onix tried to snap him up in its jaws. The massive creature bellowed in anger, and turned awkwardly to chase Charmander again.

"You're not going to tire Onix out that way," Brock said. "And your Charmander's already getting winded. All you're doing is making Onix angry."

That was just part of her plan. Charmander had raced back to the front doors of the gym, and the Onix was still chasing after him, clearly growing frustrated.

"Charmander, Smokescreen!" Kylie shouted. "Then back to me!"

Charmander began to run again, but not before blowing a large burst of smoke in the oncoming Onix's eyes. The Onix roared in pain, and Kylie covered her ears at the sound. Then the massive Pokémon turned its head, surveyed the fleeing Charmander, and chased after it faster than Kylie ever could've imagined.

All according to plan.

"Keep going Charmander!" Kylie shouted. "Run, run, run!"

Panting heavily, Charmander raced past Kylie on all fours, and Kylie jumped to the side when the furious Onix chased after him. Charmander ran towards the end of the gym in a panic. There was nothing at this end of the gym except Brock on his podium. Charmander was trapped between the Gym Leader and the raging Onix.

"End of the line!" Brock shouted. The Onix was barrelling towards Charmander; its eyes red from the smoke. It looked very much like it wanted to beat Charmander into the concrete wall for being such an annoying little coward and running all the time. Charmander stopped running; trapped between Brock and the Onix.

"Finish this, Onix!" Brock ordered.

This was her chance. "DUCK NOW!" Kylie ordered.

Using his last burst of strength, Charmander leapt to the side. The Onix barrelled past him, but it was blinded by the smoke and so distracted by its anger that it didn't even notice it had missed him. It continued to race towards the end of the Gym... straight towards the Pewter City Gym Leader.

"HOLY SHI-" That was all Brock managed to get out before the Onix collided with him.

Kylie covered her eyes as the Onix first collided with Brock, and then the Pewter Gym wall. When she opened her eyes, Onix was lying in a crumpled heap. It had smashed clear through the wall, and was now lying partly in a garden outside the Pewter Gym. Its lower half remained in the Pewter Gym, covering its gym leader. Brock had been knocked out.

"I win!" Kylie cheered.

Charmander looked at her dubiously. "Trainer, I'm not sure that qualifies as winning."

"Sure it does!" Kylie smiled. "It's ingenuity!"

"No, it's a criminal offense," Charmander frowned. "You didn't even win the battle! That Onix is still conscious, it's just really dazed."

Kylie considered this. The Onix was moaning faintly, and beginning to lift its head. Charmander was right, the Onix might still pose a problem. There was only one thing to do.

Kylie raced up to the unconscious gym leader. "Quick Charmander, help me search through his pockets!"

Charmander's face paled. "What… no! That usher is going to come in any second and he's going to see what you're-"

"No he isn't," Kylie grinned. "I bribed him to go get a coffee before I started my challenge, and not come back for an hour. I planned for everything!"

"This is completely unethical!" Charmander protested. "When we did all that running last night, you said we were just going to tire Onix out, not crash him into his own trainer! You lied to me!"

Kylie patted his head. "Of course I did, Charmander, but I had a very good reason for lying. If I had told the truth, you wouldn't have done what I wanted."

"That's not a good reason!" Charmander cried.

"Agree to disagree then," Kylie began to search Brock's pockets. "When the police get here, they'll just think that Brock had a training accident. After a collision like that, I'd be surprised if Brock remembers anything about my challenge." She continued to search Brock's pockets. "Got it! Hey look Charmander, my first gym badge!"

Kylie held the badge in the air and felt extremely pleased with herself. "My first step to becoming a Pokémon Champion! Aren't you going to congratulate me, Charmander?" She looked at his disapproving expression. "No, I guess you're not."

It didn't matter what her Pokémon thought – she'd won her first gym badge through her own ingenuity and planning. So what if Charmander didn't see it that way?

"You're bumming me out Charmander! Return!" Kylie called her Pokémon back and began to walk out of the Gym. The breeze from the massive hole in the wall was starting to give her a chill, and she was pretty sure that all the structural damage had weakened the roof. If it collapsed or something, she didn't want it falling on her.

Kylie left the destroyed gym, with the injured Pokémon and the unconscious Gym Leader, happily admiring her new gym badge.

She couldn't wait to get another one.


End file.
